Etsy reminds sellers making cloth face masks: Dont suggest they prevent COVID 19 infection

Etsy sellers have sold hundreds of thousands of cloth face masks in the past few days, the company says, and demand is likely to outstrip supply soon now that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has shifted its guidance on wearing such masks in public.

“We hope that increasing the availability of fabric, non-medical grade face masks from Etsy sellers will allow more medical and surgical masks to reach the people who need them most: front-line health care workers,” Etsy CEO Josh Silverman said in a statement Friday.

But while Silverman encouraged sellers to consider making the masks, a set of guidelines for sellers stresses that making medical claims about the masks is against its rules, and, advises sellers not to use...

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